Barbed-wire stretcher



I (No Model.)

H. L. FARRIER. BARBED WIRE STRETGHER.

No. 547,340. Patented Oct. 1, 1 95.

A NlTE TAT-ES HIRAM L. FARRIER, OF OAKLAND, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-FOURTH TO CHARLES W. KELLOGG, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

BARBED-WIRE STRETCHER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 547,340, dated October 1, 1895.

Application filed June 26, 1 89 5 To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HIRAM L. FARRIER, a citizen of the United States, residing in Oakland, county of Alameda, State of California, have invented an Improvement in Barbed- Wire Stretchers; and I hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same.

My invention relates to an implement which is especially adapted for the putting up of barbed-wire fences. 1

It consists in certain details of construction, which will be more fully explained by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a view of the implement, showing the relative arrangement of the parts. Fig. 2 is a detail of the central portion of the stretcher.

The object of my invention is to provide a convenient implement for use in putting up barbed-wire fences, and by which the posts may be set and the wire conveyed from post to post and stretched and fastened thereon without the aid of supplemental posts or attachments. It has hitherto been the practice to stretch the wire by means of some attachment beyond the post to which it is to be fastened, and each length is thus stretched. In my invention thisis efiected by a device which is in itself sufficient and does away with supplemental attachments.

A is an iron bar, preferably about four feet in length. This bar has formed at one end an enlargement a, which serves for tamping in the dirt when the post is being set. This enlargement may be cast separate and secured upon the iron or steel bar in any suitable manner. The other end of the bar is screw-threaded and adapted to receive a socket, which fits upon the screw-threads and has its outer end flattened to form a crowbar a, by which rocks or other obstructions are loosened and removed when post-holes are being dug. Between the ends of the bar A is a flattened depression D, and within this depression is pivoted or fulcrumed a swivelplate E. This plate is fulcrumed near one end, and the other end, which is corrugated, so as to have a sufficient bite or, hold upon the wire, swings near the opposite end of the Serial No. 554,097. (No model.)

depression D, so that when the wire is laid into this depression the plate Emay be turned, so that its rounded and corrugated end will bind the wire against the end of the depression and thus hold it firmly. The bar, being held hori zontally, is then rested against the side of the post, and by pressing upon the outer end a sufficient leverage is provided to stretch the wire tightly across the face of the post, where it may be secured in the usual manner.

In order to prevent thewire from slipping out of the grip produced by the plate E, and which is liable to occur by reason of the bar turning in the hands when the pressure is brought upon it, Ihave shown aplate F, bolted to the side of the bar A, with its edge extending so as to overlap the corrugated edge of the plate E, and when the wire is thus confined in the channel between the bindingplate E, the end of the depression D, and the overlapping plate F it will be impossible for it to slip from the place until it is desired. After the wire has been properly stretched and secured the plate E is loosened by a slight blow upon either of the lugs G, which project from opposite sides, so that a blow may be struck upon these lugs to disengage the plate without bruising the edge of the plate, which would prevent its moving freely about its pivot-pin. A curved fulcrum H" is fixed upon the bar near the clamp, so that it rests against the side of the post and forms a rolling fulcrum with little or no change of leverage when the lever is moved to stretch the wire.

H is a disk or collar fitting upon the barA and serving as a stop against which the roll or spool of wire I will abut when placed upon the bar to prevent its sliding sidewise when working on a side hill. The operation will then be as follows: The removable crowbar a being taken oif from the bar A, the spool I is slipped onto the bar and is held in place by the collar H, and two men, taking the bar between them, unwind as great a length. as desired, leaving the coil at that point. Re

turning to the post where the wire is to be secured, the wire is locked in the channel formed between the plates E F and the end of the depression D. The bar being then pressed against the side of the post, as previously described, the wire will be stretched, so that it may be secured to the post. The gripplate E is then released and turned, so that the wire may be disengaged from the channel and the tool carried to the next post, where the wire is to be secured, and the operation repeated, and thus the Whole length of the wire may be attached without any supplemental apparatus or extra help.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-- 1. An implement for building barbed wire fence, consisting of a bar having a camper formed upon one end, a crow-bar removably fixed to the opposite end, and a stretching clamp formed intermediate between the two ends.

2. An implement for building barbed wire fence consisting of a bar having a tamper formed upon one end, a crow-bar at the opposite end and an intermediate flattened portion on one side, a plate fixed in line and overlapping one end of the depression, an arm or dog fulcrumed in the depression with its free end beneath the overlapping portion of the plate, said free end adapted to lock the wire beneath the projecting plate when the wire is placed under tension, and said arm or dog having lugs extending outwardly from its sides.

3. An implement for building barbed wire fence, consisting of a bar having a tamper at one end and a crow-bar at the opposite end, and having a mechanism to clamp the wire,

and curved fulcrum bars on the sides of the hand.

HIRAM L. FARRIER. Witnesses:

S. H. NOURSE, H. F. ASCHECK. 

